Billy Blazes, Esq.

This one reel comedy is a pretty good parody of the westerns of its time. It's nothing fancy, but it takes a light, upbeat approach and has some funny gag ideas. Harold Lloyd and Bebe Daniels always seem to work together well, and Snub Pollard is also here, in a smaller role.

Lloyd plays the title character, who is a parody of the kinds of western heroes common both at the time and in many other eras. The character is probably based more than anything on the kinds of characters played by William S. Hart, but you wouldn't have to be familiar with Hart's movies to be able to enjoy most of "Billy Blazes".

The story squeezes quite an assortment of familiar western elements and themes into 13 minutes or so of film, and it does a good job with most of them. The big showdown between Billy and the villain is played strictly for laughs, and it features some clever turns.